Far West

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service are seeking public input on which projects should be included on the 2010-2011 priority guidance list.

WASHINGTON — Congressional appropriators will be hard-pressed to provide more funding for high-speed rail for fiscal 2011 unless there is clear evidence that the $10.5 billion lawmakers approved for the sector has been used by state and local governments, a congressional staffer said yesterday at a rail industry meeting here.

Bonds backed by federally guaranteed student loans are subject to greater short-term basis risk because of a mismatch in the way the interest rate on the bonds is calculated compared to the way the Department of Education sets interest on the underlying loans that flow into bond trusts, according to a report released by Fitch Ratings yesterday.

The Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District in Oregon has disclosed that it is entering into the Internal Revenue Service’s voluntary closing agreement program to protect the tax-exempt status of $2.5 million of general obligation bonds it sold in 1998.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt bond office this fiscal year plans to close 1,200 examinations — more than double its all time high of 581, its director says.

WASHINGTON — An amendment to financial regulatory reform legislation that would impose a broad fiduciary duty on financial services firms when they give advice and recommendations to public entities and pension funds is pitting dealers against advisers in the municipal market.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A California appeals court has denied a bid by redevelopment advocates for a temporary stay to block implementation of a recent court ruling that allows the state to shift more than $2 billion from local redevelopment agencies to help balance the state budget.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission is launching a nationwide inquiry into the municipal market that will lead to recommendations for specific statutory and regulatory changes to better protect investors, an SEC official said at the Investment Company Institute general membership meeting here Friday.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission is launching a nationwide inquiry into the municipal market that will lead to recommendations for specific statutory and regulatory changes to better protect investors, an SEC official said at the Investment Company Institute general membership meeting here Friday.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — Two senators plan to introduce legislation as soon as today to permanently extend a popular provision in last year’s stimulus law that was designed to encourage banks to buy municipal debt from small issuers but would expire at the end of the year without congressional action.